[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Test a water heater by opening a faucett and sticking your hand under the water.

A water heater element isn't too finicky about voltage drops. You should be okay. Only three things can go wrong with a water heater- the elements (the bottom one usually goes out first since it works harder), the thermostat, or the tank itself leaks.

If the water is hot, but does not last long, the bottom element probably quit. May as well change them both, since they're cheap, and you have to drain the tank down to the bottom anyway. Might not hurt to just go ahead and also change the thermostat while you're futzing with things. Everything you need is over at Home Depot.

Thats one way to see if both elements are gone but many water heaters have dual elements and if one is still good then you will still have hot water, just not as fast on the re-heat process.

The process that Danny gives is the best way to check them out. They usually are not hard or expensive to change out.